An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.
Editing
Split-screen chaos that makes you feel like you're drowning in the crowd.
Sound
Jimi's Star-Spangled Banner still electrocutes 55 years later.
Direction
Wadleigh embedded for days — the mud is practically a character.
Director
Michael Wadleigh
Richie Havens
Self
Joan Baez
Self
Roger Daltrey
Self - The Who
John Entwistle
Self - The Who
Keith Moon
Self - The Who
Pete Townshend
Self - The Who
Joe Cocker
Self
Country Joe McDonald
Self - Country Joe and the Fish
Barry Melton
Self - Country Joe and the Fish
Arlo Guthrie
Self
David Crosby
Self - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Stephen Stills
Self - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Wadleigh's crew shot 120 miles of footage on 16mm; the editing took a year and nearly bankrupted everyone involved.
The film's 1970 release actually shaped public memory of the festival — most 'Woodstock' iconography comes from this edit, not lived experience.
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